The Labyrinth
by EwigeStudentin
Summary: Icheb develops an infatuation for his superior officer and tries to prove he’s worthy by adapting an alien technology. This experiment has dramatic consequences for him and for the commanding team. See artwork for this fic in my profile!
1. Day 1, Things You Can’t Imagine

**The Labyrinth**

_by Ewige Studentin_

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Rating: T.

Summary: Icheb develops an infatuation for his superior officer and tries to prove he's worthy by adapting an alien technology. This experiment has dramatic consequences for him and for the commanding team.

A/N: A huge thank you to polomare for the beta!

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_**Day 1. Things You Can**__**'**__**t Imagine**_

"Watch your heads."

Chakotay and Icheb had to go down to their knees to crawl into the room with a low grey ceiling. Mezoti, Naomi and the twins followed them just bending their heads. The room was hewn in rock and had no windows. Watery yellow vegetation covered the walls and provided a dim light.

"And this... is the Maze of Imagination?" Mezoti moved closer to Icheb to sit by his side.

Chakotay made himself comfortable on the floor. "Patience. It's all in here. In one's mind." He smiled and patted the girl on her shoulder. His voice lowered to whisper. "Imagine......."

A bright flash of light blinded Icheb for a second. He jumped to his feet and turned around. He was standing in front of a green wall that reached the level of his neck. The bushes grew so close together that he could neither see nor feel through this living wall. Juicy leaves tickled his fingers as he tried. He went on his tiptoes to look over the area. There was no sign of the others, only vanilla sky and chaotic contours of the endless labyrinth.

One more flash and the landscape changed. Icheb's shoes drowned in hot sand. The sun was at zenith, and the air was rippling with the heat. Icheb took a deep breath and noticed a faint smell of salty water. He must had been on a shore.

Suddenly he became aware of the sounds around him. A roar of a thousand throats filled his ears. A spear pierced the air just an inch away from his head. He ducked instinctively and turned around. The dark sea of people was moving. Shields and swords of the riders reflected the sun light. Icheb stood perplexed as the snorting horses galloped towards him. He only registered that the closest rider was a strong blond soldier. Then Icheb felt the horse's breath on his neck, and then... the horse jumped right through him.

Chakotay's voice sounded like miles away. Icheb was not sure whether it came from the sky or was just in his head.

"One of the most exhausting battles for Troy had begun..."

=/\=

Icheb and the kids were still sitting wide-eyed on the floor. Naomi broke the silence.

"That's how I like history most."

"It was a very unusual lesson, thank you Commander," added Icheb. "It's impressive that the human brain can keepall these details without the support of a cortical node."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Chakotay winked. "Glad you had fun. Don't forget that you have to compose an essay about the events you witnessed. And now let us go. We don't want to abuse our hosts' hospitality, do we?"

=/\=

Captain Janeway and Neelix materialized on the transporter pods only a few moments after Chakotay and his small group stepped down from them. The Talaxian was beaming.

"A successful mission?" Chakotay asked the Captain, walking out of the transporter room with her.

"You bet, Commander. The Uli are as advanced as we are, they are curious and willing to exchange. Their society is extremely heterogeneous, and their resources are of the highest quality. Ulan vegetables make Mister Neelix' whiskers curl."

"No one could ignore it." Chakotay smiled.

"Want to hear the details over a dinner?"

"Sure. 1900, my quarters."

"I'll bring the wine."

=/\=

Janeway hesitated for a second before she chimed. Her hand ran over the collar of her cream blouse that she had worn last time for Prixin. The collar was perfect: not buttoned up and not too opened. She smiled and pushed the visitor button.

After the dinner she was sitting on the sofa with a glass of wine, observing Chakotay who was recycling the dishes. The corners of her mouth twitched in a barely recognizable smile. He hadn't expected her to wear anything casual. In his attempt to follow suit, he had first opened his uniform jacket and then taken it off completely. The sight of her first officer in the grey tee-shirt was a rare pleasure for the eye although nothing unseen before. Her calves went numb, and the sofa felt more cosy than ever – an effect of the fruity dry wine, she told herself.

Chakotay finished and came to sit next to her. They had discussed the events of the day over the dinner, so nothing interrupted the comfortable silence. He sipped his wine, looking at Kathryn from under his lowered lashes. Finally he took both their glassesand set them on the coffee table. He sat closer to Kathryn, taking her hand in his. His fingers caressed her palm, tracing its every line. The barely sensible touch grew stronger when Chakotay's fingers slid up to her wrist, moving slowly under the wide sleeve of her blouse. His thumb brushed the sensitive skin on the inner side of her arm, and goosebumps immediately covered her shoulder. Kathryn lowered her eyelids to hide her growing impatience. When Chakotay's other hand came to rest on her knee, he raised his head and their eyes met. He felt summoned by the blue desire. Slowly, afraid to scare heroff, he leanedin to kiss her.

"Icheb to Commander Chakotay."

They jumped away from each other. Adrenalin flushed the synthehol out of their systems at once. Chakotay reached for the comm badge that was still pinned to his jacket.

"Chakotay here."

"I'm sorry to trouble you so late, Commander, but I need your permission to beam down to Ula again. I have to gather more information about the Maze for my essay."

"Can't it wait until tomorrow, Icheb?"

"The essays are due at 1000 and I still have to collect some samples of the maze vegetation. I'd like to analyze its genome, I think I can adapt them to serve as an energy efficient holodeck on Voyager."

"Sounds interesting. What about your regeneration?"

"I don't have to regenerate for the next several hours, sir."

"Fine, let a bridge officer contact the Uli and arrange your transport."

"Thank you sir. Icheb out."

Chakotay let his jacket out of his hands.

"Computer, what time is it?"

"It's 22 hours 17 minutes."

Janeway and Chakotay exchanged glances.

"Icheb's eagerness can be scary at times."

"Apparently he's not preparing an essay about Troy. I have a feeling that his project will be out of your purview, Chakotay."

"As long as he learns something…"

Janeway stood up from the sofa.

"It's late, I think I should be going. Walk me to my door?"

"Sure."

They covered the few steps to her quarters in silence.

"Then…" Chakotay tugged on his ear.

"Then…" Janeway leaned with her back against the door.

"Sleep well."

"And you."

Chakotay didn't move to turn around and leave. Janeway grinned.

"Well, it's our third date, I think you should kiss me good night."

In the next moment Chakotay's lips were only mere inches away from her face.

"Yeah, I think so."

He covered the remaining distance without losing their eye contact. He only brushed her lips – a light caress on the verge of torture. Kathryn kissed him back on the corner of his mouth, then moved down his lower lip, nibbling on it. Chakotay's body was pressing her into the door. There was a flicker in her eye as he tried to deepen the kiss. The door opened all of a sudden and she backed in.

"Good night, Chakotay. Sweet dreams."

He was speechless. Her mischievous grin was the last thing he saw before the door closed.

He rolled his eyes and smiled. Next time he won't let her cheat him that easily.

=/\=

Icheb was sitting with his legs crossed on the floor of the grey room. Apparently, the plants had been producing more light in darkness, so he didn't need an auxiliary light source for taking samples, scanning, or making notes.

The Doctor's report from the previous week stated that the simple waste products of the plant's catabolism were the reason for the collective trance. A high concentration of monomers in the breathing air could temporarily cross link nerve paths of the species that had at least rudimentary telepathic abilities. Now Icheb could see it himself on the 4D screen of a scanner. Fascinated, he observed how alien amino acids stimulated the growth of axons in his brain. New neural connections were just waiting to transmit electrochemical signals. Icheb put the sensitive device away and closed his eyes for a moment.

The yellow plant was rather common on Ula, especially on the dry rocky islands on the north. However, the plant brought mental pictures to lifeonly in several places, one of them was this abandoned, cavern-like hut in the middle of nowhere. Icheb gathered various data on the particular qualities of ground and atmosphere. This data, some samples, and a bit of luck could help him to shed some light on the mystery of this plant.

He wanted to crawl out of the room but decided to check one more thing. It was weird that a single word could make one fall in a trance.

"Imagine."

Icheb felt like he had been punched in his stomach. He was lying on the ground of the labyrinth, gasping for air, surrounded by the living walls that shone in saturated green. The sky of a poisonous yellow color stung his eyes. He felt a wave of nausea. _The concentration of the monomers must be too high._ _I have to get out of here. _The next flash of light came despite Icheb's mental struggle to terminate the experiment.

The next thing he saw was Tuvok furrowing his brow. He was losing a game of kadis-kot to Harry Kim who was holding B'Elanna's bat'leth.

B'Elanna Torres ran into astrometrics and turned a container with screw-nuts over Icheb's head. He found himself claiming he was innocent and blaming everything on Neelix.

Bare-chested, long-haired Neelix had been galloping towards Icheb on a bay horse, shaking a ladle in his hand. The sight was terrifying. Icheb shook his head in attempt to stop the kaleidoscopic images.

_Commander__'__s vision quests must have trained him for keeping mental control in such situations._

At this thought Chakotay appeared before Icheb's eye. He saw him leaving the transporter room with the Captain**. **It was just like in that afternoon apart from Chakotay's hand on the Captain's bottom. Icheb couldn't believe his eyes. _This must be my imagination._

Dozens of faces have flooded the room in the next moment. There was Seven, the Doctor, the Captain, Tuvok, but also his parents, Naomi, the Academy instructor whose hologram had been in the program on Starfleet protocol… They all were speaking simultaneously.

"…rules…"

"…obey the orders…"

"…it's not logical…"

"…I've been missing you…"

"…guilt…"

"…they affect caroticotympanic nerves…"

"…results in transfer to another ship…"

"…trust…"

"…you don't function properly…"

The faces were whirling around Icheb, deafening him with shredded phrases. He fell to his knees, closing his ears, concentrating himself, trying to bring order into this mental chaos.

Suddenly it became dark. His own heavy breathing was the only sound Icheb could hear. When his eyes got accustomed to the darkness, he recognized a silhouette of a woman several steps away. She stood with her back to him, silent and motionless. He couldn't see her face, but her hair and her statue made his heart miss a beat. He approached her slowly. She didn't turn around. He lifted his hand to touch her shoulder but didn't dare. Instead, his palms caressed the air near her arms, trying to slide themso close that he could feel the heat of her body, though carefully avoiding any touch.

There he stood, staring at her neck, attracted by her pale skin, intimidated by his thoughts. He knew he'd never do it. He adored her too much. She was the one who had been supporting him just by her presence from day one. She was the perfection – for him and for the rest of the crew. He wasn't worth her.

Suddenly Icheb became aware that it was only a fantasy, a creation of his own mind. It wasn't real. He started pacing behind the woman's back.

_A fleeting kiss on her cheek__…__ nobody will learn about it._

In the next moment he gritted his teeth and scolded himself for such thoughts.

_It would be something unbecoming a Starfleet cadet and a gentleman._

His respect of her and himself stifled the heat in his stomach. Tenderness and protectiveness remained.

_I__'__d do anything__for her. __–__ She doesn__'__t need me. __–__ I__'__ll do my best serving under her. __–__ She expects it from everyone._

The silhouette cracked. A black split along the collar separated the head from the body, and it fell down, shattering in grains of sand as it hit the floor. The sand level rose with horrifying speed. In the next moment Icheb was swallowed by the hot dune. He couldn't move his extremities. The sand squashed his chest and filled his lungs. The only thing his paralyzedmind could recognize was a distant beep… and a familiar voice.

"Seven of Nine to Icheb."


	2. Day 2, Mistakes

_**Day 2. Mistakes**_

"Seven of Nine to Icheb… Icheb, respond."

Icheb found himself lying in a fetal pose on the cold floor of the Maze. His clothes were damp with sweat, his neck and shoulders were sore. He tried to respond but his voice betrayed him.

"I-akh… Icheb here."

"It's 0600. You haven't been regenerating. You are not onboard Voyager. State the purpose of your presence on the planet surface."

"Commander Chakotay has authorized my presence here. It serves scientific purposes."

"Do I understand it correctly? You've been researching all night long?"

This unexpected interrogation by Seven caught Icheb off-guard. His mind kept returning to his dream, refusing to form any kind of satisfactory answer. He wanted to stand up and straighten his shoulders to gain some dignity but his head hit the low ceiling of the room instead. Fortunately, the pain could mask his disarray.

"Seven, I need to see the Doctor. I'll report to alpha shift in astrometrics punctually."

"Understood. Seven out."

=/\=

Captain Kathryn Janeway had been humming her way through the finest choice of classical music. There was still time until alpha shift, and she had already been to the mess hall and to Engineering. She performed the first movement from Mozart's _Requiem_ after she had received Lt. Carey's report about a small accident during gamma shift, but the overall choice of music was rather joyful.

_Nessun Dorma_ accompanied the Capitan's appearance on the bridge.

Tom Paris lifted his head from the helm and turned to the commanding team.

"Have you had a nice evening, Captain? Probably followed by a sleepless night?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

The humming stopped abruptly. Janeway made a great deal of effort not to glance at Chakotay. Paris had to be put in his place.

"I _think_ I remember that you had to toil some sleepless nights on the helm as an ensign, _Lieutenant_. I trust you'll make your best not to make this a fresh memory."

Tom looked at Harry who was smiling smugly, rolled his eyes and turned back to the screen.

=/\=

Icheb found sickbay abandoned.

"Computer, locate EMH," he murmured, still engrossed in his thoughts.

Icheb ran over the events of his dream – or his hallucination – on his way to holodeck 1. They appeared so surreal in the bright light of Voyager's corridors. He turned down the idea to speak with the Doctor about them at once; the fact that he had not been regenerating but sleeping had to be addressed though, just in case it could compromise his efficiency.

Icheb chimed. The door swooshed open and the Doctor ran out to confront the intruder. "I still have 16 minutes more, can't you –"

His tone changed as soon as he saw Icheb.

"Ah, nice to see you. I thought it was Tom – you know, he's always… ah, doesn't matter. Jump in, have a look at this beauty."

The holodeck was empty, only a blue evening dress hovered in the middle of the room, presenting a striking contrast to the sharp edges of the hologrid. The dress was long and possessed the elegant simplicity. The Doctor ran his hand over the thin shoulder straps in a tender gesture. He turned to Icheb. "What do you think, should I keep the back open?"

Icheb smiled. "I think it depends on who will wear it and for which occasion."

"I'm a gentleman, Icheb." A bit more pride and the Doctor's chest would burst. "I can't tell you whom I'm dating tonight but it's the most beautiful and amazing lady on this ship. She's very special, every man would give his right hand to go out with her. And she's chosen me. We'll go to the opera. She has an exquisite taste in music…"

Icheb's heart missed a beat. He had a look at the Doctor. There could be no mistake whom he was talking about. He deserved her more than Icheb for he was an appreciated member of this crew and Icheb was just a cadet…no achievements, no sense of humor, nothing to offer. Icheb could hardly breathe**. **The woman from his dream filled the gaping emptiness of the dress. Icheb blinked to dissolve the illusion and backed away. The regeneration issue was not that important anymore, he wanted just to flee.

The Doctor noticed Icheb's unsteady steps towards the door and cut off his monologue half-sentence. "Wait, what do you think of the dress?"

"It's beautiful… it fits her eyes perfectly." Icheb turned around and hurried away.

=/\=

Chakotay entered the ready room.

"You wanted to see me, Captain?"

"Yes. Computer, what time is it now?"

"It's 1600 hours."

Janeway went around her desk to stand near Chakotay, infiltrating his private space.

"We both are technically off duty now. Do you think we can continue where we have stopped yesterday?"

"There's actually one more issue to address. We are leaving the orbit of Ula at 2400 according to your orders. I have changed the duty roster to return to our normal shift rotation after one week of enjoying the Ulan suns." Chakotay checked his PADD. A barely recognizable grin curved his lips for a second. "That means that you'll have to take over gamma shift… technically speaking."

"What?"

"This is the only way to manage without the senior stuff pulling double shifts during the readjustment period."

"And why are you grinning then?"

Chakotay leaned in. "Still in the mood to continue?"

"Why do I have a feeling that you try to change the topic?"

Chakotay put the PADD in Janeway's hand.

"You can ban poor Harry to gamma shift, of course. It's all in your authority." Chakotay gave her a suggestive wink and turned around to leave. "I have an appointment. See you in… one week?"

"Apparently. Dismissed."

Janeway scrolled over the duty roster again and again. It was a perfect roster; in fact, Chakotay's rosters had always been perfect. He managed to juggle the crew to assure the highest efficiency, week for week. In a brief moment of weakness Janeway checked the possibility of moving Kim to gamma shift. It would result in an endless chain of changes. Janeway closed her eyes. She smelled a trap. Chakotay was onto something, but the ship came first so she would just sit back and wait. Her death glare had managed to stop Tom and Neelix from throwing a party for her birthday two months ago, so it couldn't be this kind of surprise. And she knew Chakotay wouldn't come up with anything as unsettling as Tom's idea of fun and recreation.

=/\=

It was Icheb's first visit to Commander Chakotay's office. He politely declined a beverage and studied the room while Chakotay was replicating tea for himself. There was a soothing harmony in the bright colors of the ornaments. A wooden figure of a warrior with a spear stood by the entrance. A large painting of a night sky full with stars hung on the opposite wall compensating for the lack of a view port in the room.

Chakotay took a PADD from his otherwise empty, standard 'Fleet issue desk.

"I'm glad that you decided to turn theory into practice. Voyager would be the first Federation ship with bio holodecks if successful**. **I think a storage room in the cargo bay on deck 4 would serve your requirements best. Mr Neelix is officially in charge of this room, but he claimed nearly every empty storage room on the ship and he hardly uses this one anyway." Chakotay smiled inwardly as he remembered Neelix running to and fro between all his storages, still unable to believe his luck. Neelix had been looking like a happy hamster those days.

"The room is small as you required and it is situated near transporter rooms in case you'll need them for your experiments. Ask Mr Tuvok to lend you a hand if you have difficulties. He has some experience with crossing different species in the pattern buffer." Chakotay couldn't help but grin at these words.

"Thank you, Commander. This location appears suitable for my purpose."

"Good, I'll ask B'Elanna and the Doctor to configure the bio containment fields for this room immediately so that you can beam your samples there right away. It's just a measure of precaution," added Chakotay when he saw Icheb's surprise at his mentioning of the fields. "We'll be leaving this system at 2400, I hope you'll figure out how to adapt the plants to our environment by then."

This unexpected deadline surprised Icheb even more than the fields. This project became illogically dear to him so he couldn't put it at risk by postponing the adaptation tests. Fortunately, the Commander didn't ask for details. Icheb left immediately for his new science lab. He had many things on his to-do list tonight, regeneration was not one of them.

=/\=

The Doctor hurried towards the holodeck after he had left a PADD with the latest configuration of Voyager standard bio containment fields for B'Elanna and the equipment for medical tests for Icheb in the storage room. He would usually question the purpose of these preparations, especially as he preferred to have his fragile medical devices in the safety of sickbay, but he couldn't care less that day. He started his program. The grey walls gave way to the luxurious interior of Vienna Opera House and the Doctor's science uniform changed to a tuxedo.

He ran through the long-prepared list of selected opera singers. The first performer would present the absolute perfection of mathematical harmony. Every new area would bring the listeners further away from numbers and guide them into the universe of feelings. The Doctor hoped to overwhelm his date with the rush of emotions in the last performance that would pave the way to his own part. He replicated a bunch of red roses and hoped he wouldn't get cold feet this time.

A few minutes remained. The Doctor walked his rounds on the stage, glancing at the entrance every now and then. Then he remembered something and dashed upstairs to check seats in the best box. Naturally, everything there was as he had programmed. He came back just in time to see the holodeck door opening. He felt like if the door was malfunctioning for it took ages before he could see his guest. Then she entered, and his holographic limbs refused to comply.

"Seven… Seven, you are beautiful… so very beautiful."

He rushed to her finally, taking her hand and moving it reverently to his lips.

The door opened again, letting Mortimer Harren in with a stack of PADDs in his hands. The Doctor let Seven's hand fall.

"What is _he_ doing here?"

"The invitation said the evening would be about mathematics. It seemed suitable to take Mr Harren along, especially as you advised me to continue searching for a mate." Seven stated nonchalantly.

The Doctor opened his mouth but closed it again without saying a word. Still dumbfounded, he looked at Harren who was studying the surroundings with a slight expression of disdain.

"Haven't you told me it was about mathematics and space harmonics?" Harren asked Seven. "I thought I'd share the results of my latest research with you. A second opinion of a Borg could not hurt."

The Doctor stepped in between Seven and Harren.

"She's not Borg anymore."

The disdain on Harren's face grew.

"What are _you_ doing here anyway? You aren't a cosmology expert, are you?"

The Doctor's speech processor failed at such cheekiness.

Harren continued. "This location is not suitable for scientific research. Computer, end program and deactivate EMH."

The Doctor disappeared with a pop, the room was grey again. Seven found her evening dress to be suddenly completely inappropriate.

"I am no cosmology expert either. The Borg are not interested in so-called Big Bang theories."

Harren rolled his eyes and left, murmuring something about wasting time. Seven recovered instantly from her brief confusion.

"Computer, activate EMH."

"The program is already running in sickbay."

"Seven of Nine to the Doctor."

"Doctor here," came an unwilling answer.

"Report to the holodeck 1 at once and engage in recreational activities with me."

"Err… Seven, I have… a patient. I think I'll be busy during the whole evening, yes."

"Understood. What a pity. Seven out."

Seven left for her cargo bay to change. The dress wasn't efficient. What a squandering of resources.

The Doctor plumped into the chair in his office in exhaustion. He had a patient to take care of, in a way. However he feared that nursing his heart would take far longer than only one evening.

=/\=

Icheb checked his calculations again and again. The yellow plants covered the rear wall of his improvised lab and appeared steady; they would decay in less than 12 hours according to Icheb's extrapolation though, and he saw no way to slow down the process. Icheb checked the environmental controls for what felt like the hundredth time. Within the containment field, a small part of oxygen was substituted by two other gases that were probably essential for the plant's metabolism. Artificial gravity was adjusted to the pulsating Ulan pattern. The specific radiation of two Ulan suns was simulated with B'Elanna's help. None of this seemed to prevent the decomposition of the alien matter. Icheb was positive that only one tiny piece of this puzzle was missing but he wasn't sure whether he could find it in time. Besides, his brief self-diagnosis revealed that his Borg components were functioning with compromised efficiency. His cortical node was impaired most with nearly 2% loss of the processing speed. There was no time to waste. He hit his comm badge.

"Icheb to Lt. Tuvok."

It took Icheb only a few minutes to describe the problem, and Tuvok needed only a few seconds to come up with an advice.

"The solution is simple. Cross your plants with weeds from the Earth. It will give them resistance to the destructive influence of our environment and a faster metabolism for the aggressive reproduction. I suggest burdock. Mr Neelix has a whole plantation of it in the hydroponic bay. He thinks that the roots are a suitable substitute for Bajoran celery."

Icheb noted the plant's name in his PADD, thanked Tuvok and was about to close the channel as the Vulcan added.

"Take a large bunch. Our stomachs will thank you."

=/\=

It was almost midnight when Icheb brought an impressive load of burdock to the transporter room 1. Tal Celes had relieved the transporter officer from beta shift by that time and observed the moving pile of fluffy leaves with curiosity. Icheb let his load down on the transporter pad. Tal couldn't help but giggle when she saw multiple burrs on Icheb's clothing and in his hair. Icheb didn't bother to smile. He gave Tal a PADD.

"Transport the vegetation from these coordinates on the surface of Ula to my lab at once… please."

He had only twelve hours from that moment on to find the solution.

Tal's medical training and willingness to help spared Icheb several hours, but time went by too quickly nonetheless. They had no problem isolating the necessary chains in the DNA code of burdock, but there were apparently no fitting sequences in the code of the yellow plant. Blind modeling in the pattern puffer became more complex with every try but resulted only in a lifeless greyish mash on the floor of the lab. With every passing minute Voyager moved further away from Ula and Icheb became more desperate.

Suddenly Tal had an idea.

"Haven't you identified the gene pairs of the Ulan plant that were indirectly responsible for the effect of the trance? What about adding these and the other key sequences to the burdock genome?"

It was worth a try. The preparation took Icheb several minutes. He programmed the transporter and hit the button.

The transporter log showed a living plant. It was their first moderate success that night. Icheb breathed out with a hissing noise. They exchanged glances, Tal smiled.

"Go check it through."

Icheb dashed out, ran through the corridor and entered his lab. A fluffy mini bush of burdock occupied the farther corner. It was of a watery grey color and bore only a distant resemblance with the alien plant. Icheb took a medical tricorder. His fingers shook. The readings were encouraging. The mutated plant would survive for several days at least; proper care and optimized environment would give it enough time to grow sprouts that will live for several days more, and so on. Icheb made minor adjustments of the environmental controls and documented his actions. It was still not clear whether this new plant had the same influence on brain cells like its ancestor. The Doctor's sophisticated equipment provided ambiguous readings. Icheb had to test it by himself. He entered the containment field and his nostrils widened at the slightly lower concentration of the oxygen. He closed his eyes.

"Imagine…"

Something was wrong. It was night and the maze looked different. The branches had spiky ends. Cold wind blew above Icheb's head, leaving grey fog in the passages between the bushes untouched. It slowly became darker until Icheb couldn't distinguish his hand in front of his eyes.

A single blue star appeared on the horizon. It moved in Icheb's direction rapidly and soon he could recognize the woman and the dress he saw this morning. It was the first time he saw her dressed casually. He suddenly realized that actually he was moving towards her. Icheb gained momentum with diminishing distance. In the last second he instinctively stretched out his hands and blinked… but the impact was very soft. He dared open his eyes and saw his hands resting on her pale back, framed by the thin material of the blue dress. He knew it was so wrong but he couldn't move his hands away from her. He just stood there and soaked in the warmth of her skin. Icheb was tired, so tired that he could stay like this forever. There was no need to think, no need to breath. Feeling her under his hands was all he needed to exist. He bent his head to rest it on the back of her head. Auburn hair tickled his face but he was falling asleep nonetheless. Half asleep, he moved his hand to caress her shoulder, let it slip down her arm and inched upwards again to caress her neck.

Her usually motionless frame shivered. Icheb backed away in terror, waves of adrenaline rushed through his blood stream. He opened his eyes in the next moment just to find himself in his lab. It was already morning.

=/\=

Janeway found her first gamma shift in years unexpectedly fulfilling. It took her only a short time to readjust her pace from the rush of the day and engross in something completely new to her, like running a ship in silence. She was mostly alone on the bridge after they had left the Ulan system. The autopilot was flying Voyager through inhabited sectors, bringing the crew closer to home at warp 9.975. There was no need for tactics, so she occupied the OP station and redirected the science there. It had been years since she'd been analyzing and filing raw data on the density of black matter or the efficiency of sensors. It was a feeling of being physically involved in flying through space – a feeling that got lost in dry reports since she'd become a captain.

Janeway leaned back in Mr Kim's chair, taking a sip of freshly replicated coffee. OP officers had a better view of the bridge than she from her captain chair. She realized absently that Harry must notice every glance between Chakotay and her; one more reason to never let it happen. She scolded herself for being constantly in doubt about her decisions. No species would suffer due to a change in two humans' private life; the Prime Directive wouldn't be broken; the quadrant would stay in the same fragile balance that governed the birth of surrounding stars an eternity ago. She'd been through all pro and contras a thousand times. No side had ever prevailed logically, so she couldn't hide behind formal reasons. It was her decision all alone and she would stick with it. There was no way back. She didn't want a way back – for both her and Chakotay's sake.

She closed her eyes to feel the quiet humming of the ship. Her decision was no betrayal of Voyager, in contrary. The ship and the crew would profit from it. She remembered her evenings with Chakotay. They dissolved her growing fatigue and made her a better captain – and this ship would need a better captain for this long, long journey. Chakotay would put his hand on her shoulder, look in her eyes and tell just the right words; well, not always, but this made him just dearer to her.

Janeway felt a hand brushing her shoulder, slipping down her arm and inching upwards again to caress her neck. She purred with pleasure and wondered in the next moment how Chakotay could sneak up on her. She smiled and opened her eyes but she was still alone on the bridge. Instantly alerted, she jumped up from the chair and looked around. There was nobody there. She couldn't believe she snoozed on the bridge. Janeway burst in laugher. Chakotay had better rearrange the duty roster if he wanted any work to get done! She checked the readings and then the chronometer. It was already morning.


	3. Day 3, Ice and Shells

_**Day 3. Ice and Shells**_

Icheb wasn't able to focus on the screen in astrometrics. Blurred images dissolved before his eyes, forming disturbing flashing patterns. The light in the lab was too bright. It brought Icheb something that he identified with surprise as a headache. He didn't dare to reduce the illumination though, fearing that somebody could enter any time. He noticed for the first time that the majority of workstations on Voyager had actually no chairs. This fact had never disturbed him before, but this time he dreaded staying on his feet for the whole duration of his shift. He grasped his console to keep his balance. His body was shaking stronger with every minute. Icheb formed a plan with the last feat of his delirious mind. Nobody would see him if he sat in the corner behind the containers with the new parts for one of the workstations that had been malfunctioning. He could pretend he was about to begin with the repair if anybody entered the astrometrics. The necessity of such tricks made Icheb smile bitterly. He didn't recognize himself. However, all moral doubts were forgotten as he reached the corner. He nearly fell down behind the containers, leaned his forehead against the cool metal surface and closed his eyes. A feverish sleep carried him away, letting his body rest while his Borg components were slowly destabilizing.

Seven relieved Icheb towards the end of the shift. He tried his best to compose himself on his way out. That morning he had stepped into his alcove only a millisecond before Seven's regeneration cycle was compete. She didn't suspect anything and he couldn't afford a slip now.

He leaned on the wall of the corridor right after the doors of the astrometrics closed behind him. Lights danced around him. A humming in his ears rose to a high pitch, summoning a wave of nausea. Icheb felt in the back of his mind that it was high time for him to regenerate, but his feet carried him to his tiny lab in cargo bay 4.

A sugary smell rushed to Icheb's nose when he entered his lab. One brief glimpse on the plants sobered up his mind at once. Almost all of the modified burdock bushes were withered and covered with reddish film. Icheb grabbed a tricorder. It was a virus but he couldn't read anything behind its protein coat. It had apparently developed within the containment field. It was probably beamed there along with the samples. Suddenly he understood it. A Ulan virus. Of course. Burdock had no chance against Ulan bacteria that had been beamed up along with the samples. Icheb burst with laugher. He laughed and laughed until he became exhausted. This was the end of his glorious experiment. A living holodeck! What a fancy idea. The implications of his failure were devastating for Icheb. This was the only project where he could shine. The Captain would put her hand on his shoulder and tell him itwas a great job. But now… how long would it take for another opportunity to catch her attention?

Icheb threw his tricorder against the wall, putting all his anger into the movement. It bounced off the bulkhead and smashed several plants on its way. Icheb looked at the rest of the fluffy bushes. Three of them showed only minor signs of the infection. They were his last chance. He took a deep breath and stepped into the containment field.

Thick darkness closed around him. Sharp rain drops stung his skin; he was shivering with cold. Naked branches surrounded him, and he could recognize rotting leaves on the wet ground in the frequent flashes of thunderbolts.

Lightning and deafening thunderclaps moved soon further, leaving Icheb under cold rain in full darkness. Suddenly he could hear a chattering right in front of him. He stretched out his hands to feel a shaking frame. He breathed out with relief. She was there. He ran his fingertips over her face. Her eyes were closed. Strands of wet hair stuck to her cheekbones, Icheb brushed them away with a tender movement. When he placed his palm on her forearm he felt goose bumps on her skin. She kept shivering. He just had to embrace her, rubbing her naked back, holding her close to share his warmth. Her proximity was robbing him of his last composure. Icheb closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of her hair, reveling in the faint aroma of coffee. Before he could think about it, his lips brushed her neck, warming up wet skin above her pulsating vein. In the next moment he was devouring her, covering her body with hot kisses, stroking her back, her thighs, whispering constantly her name. His mouth caressed the line of her collarbone, lingered over her heart and followed the rivulets of rain on their way down.

Icheb lay motionlessly on the floor of the lab. The Borg systems in his body began shutting down one by one.

=/\=

Soon after her very relaxing gamma shift Janeway was rudely reminded of why she actually needed wild working tempo. She couldn't fall asleep, stirring for hours in her bed. Neither soft music nor lower room temperature helped; it was one of her usual insomnia bouts. She considered finishing her paper work but she knew she needed sleep. She couldn't afford dozing off on the bridge one more time. Speaking of dozing off… She closed her eyes and remembered the feeling of Chakotay's hands on her body. He would be a great excuse for staying awake. She thought about what would come next, shifted her hands beneath the sheets and gave in to her imagination.

Janeway became aware of dreaming when hundreds of ice crystals suddenly touched her skin. She glanced around like an exhausted deer, begging silently that it was not _that_ dream… not again. There was the glacier… there was the ice-bound mountain lake… but there was no dark edges of the prototype ship that had been invading her nightmares. This gave her some composure back. She couldn't move and she wondered why she couldn't wake up. Becoming aware of dreaming was her safest tactic of dealing with unwanted dreams but it didn't work that time. The cold was so real. Too real actually.

Then she felt Chakotay's hands on her. He caressed her tenderly, brushing off melted ice from her skin, giving her comfort and warmth. His fingers brushed away a strand of hair from her cheekbone. He nibbled her earlobe and kissed his way down her neck. Kathryn had already forgotten how divine such endearment could be. Her moan was barely audible but it was enough to shatter Chakotay's self control. His hands pressed her into his body, his mouth explored her lips and neck, sucking, biting and kissing her soft skin. Kathryn felt a sweet clenching inside in response on this rush of passion. Her body reacted keenly on his every touch, absorbing his caresses and begging for more. He cupped her breast and began lowering his mouth to it, teasing her with his tongue on the way. He was following the line of her collarbone. Her knees were shaking and she bit her lip in foretaste. A sharp wave of pleasure rolled over her when Chakotay's mouth closed around her nipple… and she woke up – dizzy with arousal, gasping for air, trying to calm down her thumping heart.

It was almost three hours before the beginning of next gamma shift. She slipped in a silky night gown and paced around her bedroom. It was perfectly clear to her what she was about to do but she tried to wait for a while to let herself an option of retreat. It didn't work.

"Computer, is Commander Chakotay in his quarters?"

"Affirmative."

"Are the corridors on deck 3 empty?"

"Affirmative."

Janeway was in front of Chakotay's quarters in a few moments. She chimed. There was no answer. She looked down the corridor to be sure it was empty and chimed again.

=/\=

Chakotay didn't need to ask the computer about the identity of his visitor. It could be only Kathryn this late in the evening. Now he had to be quick. He shoved all the stuff he replicated during the last days in the corner and covered it with a sheet. Then he ordered the computer to turn off the light in his quarters, leaving only the background lights on, checked whether his pyjamas pants covered enough to receive a guest and rushed to answer the door.

Kathryn's body slammed against his in one urge of desire, shoving them both into the darkness of his quarters. He blindly returned her kisses, letting her requesting hands roam over his back. He felt the silky material of her night gown slipping down his bare chest, leaving no barrier between their skin. He stepped back under the pressure of her passion, and they stumbled upon an obstacle in the dark. Something shattered against the floor with a fine crystal sound. Chakotay instinctively reached out to catch Kathryn. He lifted her easily and went to his bedroom – his eyes closed, his steps careful to avoid sharp pieces. He took a moment to inhale deeply her scent before lying her down onto the crumpled sheets. No word was spoken between them. Kathryn's nails traced sharp lines around his navel. Chakotay stifled a groan and reached for his comm badge on the bedside table.

"Mike, are you still awake? Take over the gamma shift in one hour, will you? I owe you, mate."

=/\=

Meanwhile, three decks lower, Neelix couldn't sleep. He had been thinking about something cold and tasty all the night long. He tossed his pillow, but the image didn't disappear. Something icy stung his skin – he was right in the middle of the blue ice cap of Talax. He sat up in his bed, shaking his head to get rid of this weird illusion. The huge variety of new available food stuffs tickled his imagination. He was sick of searching for a PADD every time his muse struck him. This time he dressed up quickly and headed for the mess hall. After several hours of cooking it was still dark and empty there, apart from the bowls with half-melt samples that occupied the bar and several adjacent tables. Neelix was trying out a recipe for sorbet with assorted Ulan fruits but even he had to admit that it tasted good only in his imagination. He reached for another empty bowl with a sigh. A container with brown roots fell down after the impact with his elbow. In his attempt to catch it, Neelix was caught in the tendrils of alien herbage tree and fell to the floor with a loud thud, pushing a shelf with his leg. The shelf staggered, and several containers with apple-like fruits and Ulan berries slipped down, hitting the floor mere inches away from his head. Neelix removed apple pulp from his eyelid and stood up with a groan. He looked around. One could barely move in the galley because of all the baskets, containers and boxes that he stored there due to the frequent usage of their content. He would hate parting from any of them but his head was more important for him than his legs. He could easily walk to the next storage room, whereas the possible consequences of the present solution were way less appealing. For a second, Neelix imagined himself lying motionlessly on the floor, hit mortally by a piece of leola root. His eyes swelled. He blinked several times and grabbed three large boxes with determination.

There was a storage room two decks lower, in cargo bay 4. He had emptied it when he realized that somebody had been stealing food from there. There was no need to use it again after Seven's recovery… until now.

Neelix huffed and puffed carrying the heavy boxes. He could barely see from behind them, so he carefully felt his way across the cargo bay with his feet. A wave of musty smell hit his nostrils when the door to the tiny room swooshed open. Neelix hurried to let his load down, wondering whether he had forgotten a basket with vegetables here years ago. In the next moment he saw Icheb, lying on the floor in the greying mash. Neelix rushed to him and lifted his head. There were no life signs.

"Neelix to sickbay… emergency transport. It's Icheb. I think… I think he's dead."

=/\=

Janeway opened her eyes upon registering a subtle change in the ship's humming. The warp factor had fallen to 8.7, maybe 8.5. She turned her head to Chakotay. She could see his silhouette in the dim light and hear his breath. She felt a warm wave in her lower abdomen. She would give a world to stay with him now… but not the ship.

She snuck out of the bedroom, making as little noise as possible. She whispered a command to turn on the light and was stunned by what she saw.

Chakotay's living room had changed dramatically since she had seen it last time. It was full with bulky objects. Sheets failed to cover everything, and Kathryn stepped closer to examine something what looked like a counter, carefully avoiding the pieces of the shattered martini glass on her way. Then a small object caught her attention.

Amid perfectly placed glasses and beer mugs, there was a large shell on the counter. It's silvery valves and unusually soft edges reminded her of something. The shell lay well in Kathryn's palm, its weight was comforting. She involuntarily touched the line where the valves closed tightly, enjoying the pleasant memories that were coming back slowly.

Chakotay embraced her from behind, interrupting her reverie.

"I'm sorry, it's not finished yet." A tender nuzzling on her neck. "I thought I had a full week of separate shifts to prepare everything." He reached out and removed the sheet. There was indeed a counter underneath. Its wooden surface was shiny black from all the elbows propped on it for many years, all the drinks passed over it, and all the shoes of the boys who scrambled on it to make the proposal of their life.

Kathryn turned to Chakotay, wide-eyed.

"Los Angeles! But how… why?"

Chakotay smiled seeing her surprise. "You remember that crazy couple we saw in this bar? While we were sipping our drinks after Tom and Tuvok had left?"

Janeway composed herself eventually and smirked back. "How could I forget? If I remember correctly, I was the one who called them crazy. You called them romantic."

A sudden flashback and the realization of what was in the shell made Janeway almost let it fall. Chakotay followed her eyes to her hands. One corner of his mouth twitched and his face became pale under the tan when he saw what she was holding. He had been planning everything for weeks; he had been replicating this scenery for days; but he was not ready yet. He thought he had six days more. He wanted it to be perfect. Now he knew that she knew what was in the shell. His knees were like jelly and he would certainly fall down from the counter if he tried to scramble on it. He was ready for a change in his plan so he prepared to go down to one knee but then he saw something in Kathryn's eyes… shock? fear? What if she, too, wasn't ready yet?

There was no room for hesitation. He had to be sure after all these years. He had to be sure after this night. But the feeling of forcing Kathryn into this became stronger with every second. The silence dragged on.

Something chirped, startling them both. Janeway tapped her comm badge that was loosely attached to her night gown. Chakotay was grateful for the interruption.

"Doctor to Captain Janeway. Please report to sickbay. Icheb's experiment went wrong."

The tone of the Doctor's voice made them freeze. For a change, Chakotay would prefer Tuvok to interrupt them.


	4. Day 4, Correcting Errors

_**Day 4. Correcting Errors**_

Janeway covered the distance to sickbay at the maximum speed she could safely maintain. A running captain was never good for a ship; a captain always had to radiate confidence and composure, even in the midst of the deepest concern. She had a captain's responsibility to the children, of course. But it was more than that. She had developed an attachment that went a little deeper than her usual concern for Voyager's more typical occupants. The Borg children didn't enjoy the luxury of being raised by their biological parents, and Janeway was thrilled that Seven had taken over this role. There was no way she could parent them daily herself, the demands on her own time were simply too great. But that didn't stop her from closely following their development and integration. As their captain, she encouraged their curiosity, shared their joy and dispelled their apprehensions... something Seven couldn't always do for them.

Icheb… Icheb had always been special. If ever there was a case of a student surpassing his teacher. It wasn't long after his liberation from the Collective, that Janeway observed his threshold for compassion had quickly outpaced Seven's. He was not only confident in his work but also so touchingly caring for the younger children, so relaxed in his interaction with the crew and so witty that one could never imagine he had been robbed of his childhood.

Janeway swallowed hard and entered sickbay.

"Report."

Janeway's request got lost in the hum of voices. She had never seen so many of her senior staff in sickbay simultaneously. Apart from the Doctor, B'Elanna, Tom Paris, Neelix, Joe Carey and Seven, were all standing around one biobed, passing each other medical devices and technical equipment. There was a cocoon of cables, tubes, Borg components and infusers between them. The wiring led to the next Jeffrey tube, connecting the biobed directly to the power grid of the ship.

The Doctor was the first to realize that the Captain was already there. He spoke over his shoulder, still monitoring the patterns on his tricorder.

"Icheb's systems have a general failure, the reason is still unclear. Almost all nanoprobes in his body are useless, injecting Seven's didn't lead to any success. We will be able to try out the other options when the regeneration chamber is ready."

Janeway shifted her eyes to the cocoon that looked like everything but not a functioning regeneration chamber. Joe Carey moved into her field of view, and she saw a drop of sweat running down his face when he bent to connect just another component. The Doctor continued.

"Furthermore, Icheb's left lung and kidney were damaged when his spinal implant went offline, disconnecting partially from the tissue. If we manage to save him, he will still need numerous surgeries."

B'Elanna interrupted the Doctor.

"We are ready."

=/\=

It was several hours later when Icheb came to his senses. He turned his head with a groan. One more inch. Another groan. Tried to move his hands just to find himself in a confined space. Opened his eyes. Seven tapped her comm badge.

"Seven of Nine to Captain Janeway and the Doctor. Report to sickbay at once. Icheb regained consciousness."

Janeway was grateful for the possibility to spend all morning in Engineering, helping B'Elanna to track down the fluctuation in the variance of the warp core that almost threw the ship from warp during that night. Seven's message caught her in a Jeffrey tube. She closed her eyes for a moment, rubbed her stiff neck and breathed out slowly. It was time to come back. She grabbed her uniform jacket, put it on and crawled out to face the day.

Seven stood at Icheb's bedside with her hand on his shoulder. His face was still pale but bore no more signs of renal insufficiency. He whispered something. Seven had to bend down to hear it.

"It's aching. Everything is aching."

Seven squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.

"There was a failure in the energy distribution in your Borg systems but you will recover."

"What happened to me?"

"The Doctor is still searching for the reason. He has two hypotheses. The failure was caused by your latest project or by skipping your regeneration."

"I… I don't remember anything. My memory files for the last hours are damaged or missing."

Icheb turned his head to the other side to face Janeway who strode in a few seconds ago.

"I'm very sorry for the inconvenience, Captain."

He wanted to say something more, but the chamber began humming, and his eyes closed again. The next regeneration cycle began.

The Doctor rushed in just a minute too late to talk to his patient. He checked the monitors. The readings were apparently to his satisfaction. Only then he addressed the Captain and Seven.

"That project of Icheb's… it went completely wrong. Not only the original samples but also the engineered outcome were destroyed. Besides, the containment field didn't work for the mutated plant." The Doctor rubbed his forehead. "It was apparently too similar to burdock that is was considered harmless… The monomers are spread now throughout the ship, with the highest concentration around deck 4. The mess hall, two cargo bays, a number of quarters and even the bridge are contaminated. I have to develop an efficient filter, if you'll excuse me…"

Janeway suddenly remembered her last dream and that daydream on the bridge. They both felt too much like a hallucination. She had to know it.

"Doctor… what influence _exactly_ do these particles have on the crew?"

"It's hard to tell now without an intact sample. I guess the influence was pretty similar to the one of the original Ulan plant. That is, people in the nearest proximity would share what's on their mind… or share Icheb's mental images, if he was in the state of trance during that time. I don't know. I received several reports about people freezing this night, but it could be a coincidence as well."

Something beeped in Icheb's chamber, making Janeway skip her next question in favor of the matter at hand.

"What about Icheb?"

The Doctor checked the monitors again.

"Oh, he will recover, no doubt. He should stick more carefully to his regeneration schedule in the future though. Such experiments can kill him." The Doctor left to his office to prepare the decontamination protocols, leaving Janeway and Seven with the echo of his last words.

=/\=

The two stood in silence for a while. Seven couldn't move her eyes away from the tubes of the infusers that pierced Icheb's neck. There was a tremble in her voice when she spoke.

"I have failed you all."

"Definitely not, Seven. How could you know. It's just human – to be too busy to recognize every change around you. People don't notice everything, not even about their dearest friends… accidentally or intentionally." Janeway felt a stab of guilt for leaving Chakotay alone for the whole morning after their night timeconversation.

"Accidentally or intentionally…" Seven echoed, casting a swift glance at the Doctor's office. The recent happenings on the holodeck stirred a larger measure of discomfort in her than the usual simple misunderstanding. "I don't like this. It's a flaw."

"It's an experience. Next time you'll do better. And this accident with Icheb was no way your fault. We all are responsible for him, but everything happened just so quickly. He will recover. Don't worry."

"So we can proceed to correct other errors."

"So we can correct other errors," repeated Janeway. The tension of the last hours escaped her body in a drawn-out sigh as her eyelids drifted shut. Sickbay faded out, and she was back in the Commander's quarters. She heard his steady breath instead of beeping of the monitors. She felt the woolen Indian blanket and not the cold console beneath her hands. She smelled herbal tea and a hint of Château Latour in the sterile air of sickbay.

Janeway blinked, reluctant to let the illusion go. She tapped her comm badge. "Commander, would you have time for a lunch, in your quarters?" She smiled when she heard relief in Chakotay's positive answer. "That's wonderful, Commander. And don't forget the shell."


End file.
